The explosion in the use of multiple credit and charge cards in the late 1960s created the need for card protection. At the time, this need could be efficiently filled with 1960s enabling technology (e.g., minicomputer) and efficient communications (e.g., toll-free calls, telex, etc.). The demand for a “one call does it all” service for communicating with multiple card issuers for the purpose of limiting liability, reporting lost or stolen cards or changes of address made sales easy. Today, there has been a great explosion in the number and type of cards per household. Such cards include credit cards, charge cards, debit cards, ID cards, medical insurance cards, library cards, automobile club cards, discount cards, and membership cards.
The principle prior art method of reporting a change of address, requesting a new card, notification of a billing dispute, requesting a copy of a bill, reporting a change in marital status, reporting a lost or stolen card, or requesting an increase in credit line, required a phone call or written notification to the card issuer. This often required the cardholder to spend a substantial amount of time thereafter on “hold” until a service representative became available or navigating through an automated voice response system. The cardholder could also subscribe to a lost or stolen card service. Here the cardholder was required to submit a list of the cards and the associated data thereto by mail. Thus a significant amount of time could pass before protection was obtained. If a card was lost or stolen, the cardholder was required to telephone the service. Of course; any change in a card or the addition of a card required an additional letter.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/846,616 entitled Card Management System And Method Therefore, by S. Kasower, filed May 1, 2001 discloses a method and system for on-line card management, wherein the card is issued to a card user by an issuing organization. The card user then interfaces with a card management organization via the card user's own computer through the Internet system to a computer system within the management organization. The computer system includes a computer program that processes the card user's request(s) concerning the cards(s) and the car issuer is informed of the car user's request via the Internet system. The computer program thereafter informs the card user that the card issuer has been informed. While the card management system provides all the needs of a card user, it does require that the user manually enter the credit card.
Thus it is a primary object of the invention to provide an improved card management method and system that harnesses modern communications and information technology to each and every card that a card user might carry.
It is another primary object of the invention to provide an improved card management method and system to extend card protection services to meet current cardholder expectations.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an improved card management method and system wherein the cardholder can conduct a multitude of transactions in a single connection to the Internet.
It is another object of the invention to provide an improved card management method and system to provide on-line card registration.
It is another object of the invention to provide an improved card management method and system that can instantly notify the card issuer of a lost or stolen card.
It is a still further object of the invention to provide a simplified method of providing credit card information to an entity such as a card management organization.
It is another object of the invention to integrate a simplified method of providing credit card information to a credit card management organization.
It is another object of the invention to provide a simplified method of providing credit card information to an entity such as a card management organization that only requires the card user to grant permission to card management organization to allow the organization to obtain necessary information.